by Craig Mayes on August 17th, 2011

This week a group from Michigan has joined us in NYC- serving and spreading the love of God. Their days have been long and their hearts open wide.

Tonight, I served with some of the team members at the New York City Rescue Mission- one of the places Communitas serves on a regular basis. The mission is the oldest in the United States, and serves the homeless and hungry three meals a day, provides a place to sleep at night, and for those looking for more than food and shelter, programs to help turn their lives around.

The men who are in the programs typically serve alongside the volunteers, like us, who come in to help. One such man this evening was Otto. I overheard Otto asking the team where they were from, and then one of the team members asked where he was from. It was an unnecessary question from my point of view. His accent and his attitude said “born and raised in New York.”  Maybe the Bronx, or maybe Brooklyn, but certainly New York.  Sure enough, New York through and through.

Over the next hour or so as we served dinner to a couple of hundred men and women, he regaled us with stories so vivid that is was like watching a TV show about crime in the city- gangs, violence, mace sprayed at him and by him. Jail time. And somewhere along the way, Jesus and a start at a new life.

I was mostly in the background listening and not interacting  directly with Otto at all- until it was nearly time to leave. I was sitting in the cafeteria that had grown quite after the dinner rush, resting my weary legs when Otto walked over and said something like this:

I used to run like crazy. Always in a hurry- like all New Yorkers…hurrying here and there. Running, running, running. Never really seeing what was around me. Never seeing the wonder of the world, of God’s creation, of people.  So I slowed down. Stopped running. Paid attention. Do you know what’s out there? Do you notice the new mother pushing her beautiful baby in the stroller down 2^nd Ave, or do you rush by in a hurry to get to wherever you’re going?

He said more- more examples of what is missed when we live life in a hurry. It really felt like an odd thing for Otto to be telling me. But it also felt like I was supposed to hear it. God knows, as well as everyone else who knows me, that I am usually in a hurry.

I parted with the Michigan team as they headed out to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and grab some famous Grimaldi’s Pizza. I jumped on my bike and decided to take Otto’s advice. The objective was not to get to my apartment as soon as possible. The goal was to ride my bike and notice what was going on around me as I made my way to 377 E 33rd Street. I have a speedometer on my bike (surprise) but I didn’t look at it. I looked around. And Otto was right. A beautiful city. Great parks. Interesting people. A gorgeous evening sky.

A lot is missed when I am in a hurry, when the only thing that matters is to get from one thing to the next.  Thanks Otto. Now, can I keep it in low gear for even part of tomorrow?